


The Distance Between (Our) Worlds

by masadora



Category: IDOLiSH7 (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Merpeople, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-10
Updated: 2020-01-18
Packaged: 2020-08-14 03:55:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 10,436
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20185852
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/masadora/pseuds/masadora
Summary: Hunted to near-extinction for their beautiful scales and exotic nature, mermaids fled beneath the surface of the sea. It's been a very long time since anyone has seen one.Gaku considered himself lucky to have heard a mermaid’s song – more than once, in fact, and he falls a little more in love each time. He just wished that the mermaid would trust him enough to show his face.





	1. Chapter 1

In the beginning, Gaku falls in love with a voice.

He had been walking along the beach, fuming after yet another argument with his father and venting his anger out of any unfortunate pebbles in his path. It’s the middle of the night, so he’s thankfully alone in this undignified display of moodiness.

Or at least, he thought he had been alone. The sound of a distant song proves him wrong – it’s quiet at first but grows louder, clearer, drowning out the crash of ocean waves and reverberating like something out of a dream. The song captures his attention thoroughly, enveloping him in a gentle embrace until it was the only thing he could hear.

It’s a lovely melody and an even lovelier voice. With each note, Gaku can feel his earlier agitation melting away. He takes a step forward, spellbound, then another and another, until it feels within an arm’s reach. Illuminated by the moonlight and against the backdrop of the ocean, he sees the shadowy reflection of a boy whose face is tilted up towards the sky, his mouth open in song.

This must be what it’s like to look upon an angel.

A wondrous sigh escapes his lips. It’s barely audible – but the song cut off, abruptly, and the ensuing silence was more jarring than Gaku ever thought possible.

“I’m sorry,” he starts to explain. “I didn’t mean to scare you–”

There’s a small, quiet splash. Gaku abandons all caution and dashes forward, but the shadow flits out of sight – all that’s left is a few ripples across the water, and the lingering warmth of the mermaid’s voice.

* * *

Gaku commits the beautiful voice to memory. He visits the beach in hopes of seeing the mysterious mermaid again – first once a week, then with increasing frequency, until he’s there almost every day. Sometimes, he can hear the mermaid singing again, but the song always tapers off if he gets too close.

“Don’t leave,” Gaku pleas, feeling very silly as he wades into the water, turning blindly in all directions in a futile effort to find the mysterious songstress. “I won’t hurt you, I promise. I haven’t told anyone about this! I just want to hear you sing.”

There’s no reply. He walks back from the beach in uncomfortably wet socks, and boots that squelch with each step.

It’s disappointing, but not entirely unexpected. Mermaids are shy and elusive creatures that had been hunted to near-extinction for their beauty and exotic nature. Shimmering scales are made into jewelry, and while certain circles still spoke of the rumoured longevity that can be obtained from drinking a mermaid’s blood. Those who survived the hunt had since then fled beneath the ocean waves, never to show themselves in front of humans again.  
  
It’s been a very long time since anyone’s had the chance to see a mermaid in person – they’re almost more myth than reality. And yet, _this_ one comes back to shore almost every night. Would it be vain to assume that the mermaid was coming back for him?  
  
Perhaps a gift would be sufficient to demonstrate his goodwill. The next day, Gaku goes to the market, glancing over the colourful trinkets being advertised by the vendors and pacing up and down the stalls in search for something special. He walks away with a jeweled brooch, its ringlets of silver curled into the shape of delicate jasmine blossoms.  
  
Unsurprisingly, the mermaid doesn’t actually stick around long enough for Gaku to hand him the gift. There’s no sign of him now, but the surface of the water is still rippling.  
  
“Are you here?” Gaku calls out, a little sheepishly. “I brought you a present. It’s just a small token of thanks.” He kneels, easing the brooch out of its wrappings and carefully setting it down next to the gently-lapping waves. “You have a beautiful voice. When I’m listening to you, I feel calmer.”  
  
The water is still. He could be just pouring his heart out to the ocean like a fool, but Gaku had a feeling that the boy was there, listening.  
  
“I know mermaids don’t trust us. There’s been no known record of a mermaid sighting in my lifetime,” he hesitates. “But I promise that I’ll keep this a secret. I won’t tell anyone about you. So I’d like it if I can see you, just once.”  
  
There’s no response.  
  
“...It’s okay if you don’t want to. I’ll leave this here – it’s for you.”  
  
He leaves the brooch on the sand, its jeweled center glimmering in the wane moonlight.

* * *

The next morning, the brooch is nowhere to be found. Even its wrapping ribbons are missing.   
  
It’s hard for Gaku to contain his excitement. Even if the mermaid won’t show himself, at least he’s chosen to accept his gift – that _had_ to be a good sign. That same afternoon, he finds himself back in front of the jewelry vendor.  
  
“What other things do you have?" he asks eagerly. "Maybe a necklace, or a bracelet?”  
  
“There’s plenty here for you to choose from!” the shopkeeper waves him towards the expensive displays of silver and gold. “To be back so soon, Lord Yaotome – you must be trying to impress a lady friend, eh?”  
  
“Well…” Gaku rubs at the back of his head. “Something like that.”  
  
The mermaid sings for him that night, too. By now, Gaku knows better than to try to get too close to the water. He waits patiently instead, sitting with his back to the ocean until the last notes slowly fade away.  
  
“You took the brooch…it _was_ you, right? Did you like it?”  
  
There’s no response. Gaku’s shoulders slump slightly, but he’s not willing to be discouraged.  
  
“I got you something else today.”  
  
He places a glossy, golden hairpin on the sand, and it’s gone when he comes back the next morning. So is the bracelet he leaves a couple days after, and the dainty earrings he puts down after that. Gaku goes through a small fortune of jewelry before finally running out of variety, and he paces the market several times before the florist’s shop catches his eye. He walks out with an elaborate bouquet in his arms, breathing in deeply to inhale their scent.  
  
These fragrant blossoms aren’t something that can be kept underwater, but it’s a gorgeous display, and something the mermaid probably hadn’t seen before. That had to count for something, right?  
  
_ In any case_, he thinks to himself, _No courtship is complete without a nice bouquet._  
  
As usual, his gift is gone by morning. However, there’s something else on the sand this time – a large seashell of white and gold, with a perfect spiral running from the tip to the opening of the base. Its inside is iridescent in the sunlight, glossy and smooth to the touch. It’s not something that could have simply washed up on the beach.  
  
Gaku turns it over in his hands, running his thumb down the graceful ridges and whorls. His face breaks out into a wide smile.

* * *

After that, it becomes a sort of exchange; when he leaves the mermaid a gift, he can always expect to find something else on the sand come morning. It’s hard to guess what kind of present the mermaid might like best, but Gaku’s developed a fondness for experimenting with different kinds of flowers. Instead of buying ready-made arrangements, he begins to order custom ones, trying to rearrange the flowers by himself to add a personal touch. In return, he receives a steadily-growing collection of rare shells, corals, and pearls. They pile up on his desk, drawing curious stares from visitors and servants alike.  
  
It’s difficult to explain how he’d become so enamoured with the mermaid despite their limited interactions. But visiting the beach had become part of his nightly routine, and Gaku desperately wants to meet the boy with the lovely voice.  
  
“I’ll be gone for a while,” Gaku says, one night. Their chats were always one-sided; the mermaid never responds, never even allows himself to be properly _seen_, but he always listens and sometimes he’d sing. “My father’s sending me along as his representative for business talks – and he won’t even give me the full details, can you believe it? Said I just need to finalize the deal that’s already been negotiated. I’ll find out, though. I’ll find a way. If he doesn’t want me to see, then there must be something wrong with it.”  
  
He pauses.  
  
“It’s a pretty long trip, so I’ll be away for a couple months. I guess you won’t need to come here anymore.”  
  
Would it be too much to ask the mermaid to wait? When he thinks about it, it’s already a miracle that the mermaid had come to visit for so long.  
  
“...I’ll miss you, you know. Won’t you at least tell me your name?”  
  
Their secret rendezvous had carried on for several weeks now. But no matter how hard Gaku tries, it felt like there’s some sort of invisible line that can’t be crossed.  
  
He sets a golden pendant down on the sand, and bid the mermaid goodbye.  
  
Their ship set sail a few scant hours later at the crack of dawn, and Gaku stifles his yawns as he watches their bustling port city fades into the distance. The sky is blue, the weather chilly but clear. However, this deteriorates rapidly as the day went on.  
  
By mid-afternoon, a storm is upon them.

“Reduce sail! Pull right, I said _right_–”  
  
The captain’s voice was lost under the howl of wind, and Gaku squints to see past the icy rain pelting all over his face. He knows some basics, but has none of Ryuu’s experience; it’s hard to make any kind of headway when every crash of the waves sends the ship tilting wildly, and the thick, knotted ropes keep slipping out of his grasp.  
  
Lightning flashes, followed by a sickening lurch. Gaku loses his grip on the rigging and is thrown across the slippery deck, slamming into the wooden railings hard enough to have the breath knocked out of him. Then, before he can regain his footing, the ship tilts again.  
  
And suddenly there is nothing beneath his feet at all.  
  
Water closes in over his head. Gaku gasps for air without meaning to, and chokes as the icy water rushes into his lungs.  
  
Through the murky darkness, there’s a flash of colour and warmth as a pair of arms wrapped around his shoulders. Someone shouts his name.  
  
Then, nothing.

* * *

When he wakes up again, it’s to the unpleasant sensation of something slapping against his face.  
  
“What the…?”  
  
His view had been blocked by something large, pink, and strangely slippery to the touch. Gaku groans and pulls at the wet opaque material, trying to get it out of his eyes.  
  
“Hey!” It flails, jerking out of his hand and smacking him upside the head. “Don’t do that. You wouldn’t like it if I tried to pull _your_ limbs apart, would you?”  
  
Those words are sharp, but the voice is so familiar and so, _so_ lovely. Gaku sits up with a start.  
  
There’s a young man in front of him and he’s _beautiful_, naked from waist-up with smooth, milky skin and pale rose-coloured hair that’s damp with seawater and curled against the nape of his neck. But more shockingly, his lower half is in the form of a fish with shiny pink scales, iridescent under the bright sunlight.  
  
Gaku gapes wordlessly as he looks the mermaid up and down, taking in the delicate fins behind his ears and the curve of his long, elegant tail.  
  
“Were you slapping me with that?” he blurts out.  
  
“Yes.”  
  
_“Why?”_  
  
“Why?” the mermaid echoes, as if it should be obvious. “I was trying to wake you up. Unless...” he presses a finger to his bottom lip, eyes sparkling with mischief. “Would you have preferred for me to do it with a kiss instead?”  
  
“N-No, that’s not-!”  
  
Blood rushed to Gaku’s face and he splutters, indignant. The mermaid begins to laugh, the sound ringing out like tinkling bells.  
  
Gaku groans, rubbing a hand against his temple. It honestly feels like he’s hallucinating. “Who are you?”  
  
“You don’t know?” The mermaid’s expression twists into somewhat of a sullen pout. He seems mildly offended. “Yaotome Gaku…you’re kind of slow, aren’t you? I thought you would have been able to recognize my voice by now.”  
  
He leans forward, close enough for Gaku to catch every detail of his long lashes and the small, glittering scales under the corner of his eyes.  
  
“Shall I sing for you once more?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy GakuTenn Day! I just barely made it...well, I also kind of cheated by only posting the first part, but I wouldn't have made it on time otherwise haha. The story's gotten longer than I anticipated, anyways – I had originally written it for the i7 flashbang, but it went over the word limit by a ridiculous amount, so I guess it's its own thing now.
> 
> This story will have three chapters, and the final one will be posted on September 8th. Please look forward to it!
> 
> If you enjoyed this fic, please leave a comment or kudos! I'm also on twitter **[@redigitizing](https://twitter.com/redigitizing)** <3


	2. Chapter 2

His name is Nanase Tenn.

The mermaid had always felt like something out of reach, something unattainable – it’s a little surreal to be sitting next to Tenn now, huddled around a small campfire and laying the rest of his soaked clothes out to dry on the sand. Gaku steals a glance at him out of the corner of his eye. The sun was setting, leaving the flickering flames to be their main source of light while the mermaid examines it with open fascination. There’s a string of pearls and seashells woven into his hair as well as a radiant red scale hanging from his neck like a pendant, but nothing of human design. 

“Did you…”

The rest of the question is almost too embarrassing to say, but Tenn had already turned to give him an inquisitive look. Gaku takes a deep breath, and summoned the rest of his courage. “Did you get them? The things I left for you, I mean.”

“I did,” Tenn says. “Were you worried that someone else might’ve snatched it up?”

“I wasn’t sure at first,” Gaku admits. “But then you started leaving me gifts, too – or at least, I hope they came from you.”

Tenn raises an eyebrow. “All this time, and you weren’t even sure?”

What’s with that attitude? Not to mention that he isn’t wearing any of his gifts, either.

...Not that he _had_ to! But they were fine jewels, and if he wasn’t wearing a single one…did he not like them? Gaku crosses his arms, and tries not to feel disappointed. “I asked you a bunch of times, you know – how come you never talked to me?”

“You’re a human.” Tenn says simply. “I wanted to be cautious.”

Gaku deflates slightly. There's still a hint of caution in the way Tenn keeps an arm’s length between them, but at least he feels comfortable enough to speak and show his face. Perhaps he is more at ease here, away from the shore of human cities – unfortunately, what might have been comfortable for Tenn does not make Gaku feel the same way. A quick look around tells him that the island had a thick, leafy forest as well as a small stream. Aside from that, all he could see was the vast, endless ocean, stretching out in all directions.

“Where are we now?”

“Nowhere near the human cities, I’m afraid.” Tenn’s tail, half-submerged in the shallow water, began to swish from side to side. “Your ship had gone too far out to sea, and you were about to drown. This was the closest patch of land I could find.”

In other words, "I'm stranded."

"Yes." There's a pause. Then Tenn’s voice softens, apologetic. "I'm sorry. I had wanted to carry you back to your home, but it was...difficult."

“You don’t have to apologize.” Tenn had a small, slender frame – it was at least half a day’s travel back to the city, and there was no way he could’ve made it with that much dead weight in his arms. Gaku takes a deep breath, and forces on a smile. “I should be thanking you. If not for your help, I wouldn’t even be alive right now.”

To his surprise, Tenn shifts closer and presses their shoulders together. “Human ships will pass over this area again. They’ll find you.” 

It’s a moment of quick, fleeting warmth – then he draws back, pushing himself off the sand and shifting until most of his body settles back into the seawater. 

“Are you going to leave?” 

The last thing Gaku wanted is to show any kind of weakness, but he doesn’t want to be alone on this small, secluded island right now. The worry must have leaked through his voice, because Tenn gives him a thoughtful look.

“Not yet. Rest for tonight – I’ll keep you company.”

Tenn begins to hum, his voice ever-familiar. Slowly, the tension drains out of Gaku’s shoulders. 

He never even notices when he falls asleep.

* * *

Every muscle in Gaku’s body seems to ache the next morning – after a lifetime of luxury bedding, it’s no mystery why a night on the cold, hard ground had left him feeling sore. He desperately wishes for a bath, and a clean change of clothes.

His campfire had gone out during the night, too. Gaku starts a new one, and is in the middle of fanning the flames when Tenn pops out of the water, clutching at a plump, wiggling fish between his clawed hands.

“Breakfast, for you,” he announces, and tosses it unceremoniously onto the sand.

It was a far cry from the meals he is used to, but Gaku’s too hungry to care. He cleans it as best he can with the dagger that had thankfully remained fastened to his belt, and sets it to roast over the fire.

Tenn leans over, still fascinated with the fire as he was last night. “Why are you burning it?”

“I’m _ cooking_,” Gaku corrects. “It tastes better that way. Also,” he prods at the campfire. “Has there been any ships?”

“So far, no,” Tenn wiggles to find a comfortable position in the shallows, the shine of his scales catching in the bright sunlight. “But your smoke signal is easy to see, even from far away. You should keep it up.”

“That’s the plan.”

It’s not as if there’s anything else he can do. Gaku’s noble upbringing meant that he’s had private tutors in just about every subject, but none of that extended to lessons about surviving on a deserted island or identifying wild flora. With his dagger being the only tool that’s survived his plunge, he’s been able to gather some firewood and make a rough lean-to shelter – but after that, there’s very little to do but wait, and hope that someone else will pass by.

At least he’s got food in the meantime. Once the fish looks sufficiently browned, he removes the makeshift stick and holds it out to Tenn. “Want some? It’s good.”

Tenn gives him a dubious look, but accepts the fish and takes a small, careful nibble.

“Well?”

“…It isn’t that good.”

Which means it isn’t bad, either. Gaku chuckles, and takes the rest of the fish for himself. “I don’t even have basic seasoning right now, so you’ll have to cut me some slack. I can cook way better things if you give me a proper kitchen.”

“Do you cook everything you eat?”

“For the most part, yeah.”

Tenn makes a thoughtful sound. “You humans must be very reliant on your fire.”

He’s incredibly curious, and adorably fascinated with almost everything about the world on land. Gaku talks until his mouth is dry, describing the kinds of things they have at home, and wishes vehemently that he could have something to show Tenn aside from his dagger and the clothes on his back.

Luckily, it doesn’t take much to pique the mermaid’s interest, and one of his main points of curiosity is still very simple. On the third day, Gaku comes back from his short trek in the forest to find a mess of smouldering sticks scattered around his campfire, and Tenn frantically blowing on his fingers. The second he notices Gaku, he whips both hands behind his back.

“What were you doing?” Gaku exclaims, aghast. “You've got to be careful!”

Being burned must be an entirely alien feeling, but Tenn looks more embarrassed than pained as he pouts down at the ground. “Shut up, I know already.”

“Let me see your hand, Tenn.”

“It’s fine.”

“You’re the last person who would know if it’s ‘fine!’”

Tenn’s eyes dart from side to side, and for a moment, he seems to contemplate escaping back underwater – then, very slowly, he retracts his arms from behind his back.

Some of his fingers are burned, but he’s holding something else with his free hand. Fish, clumsily set on a stick to roast – it’s been burnt black in some areas, but practically raw in others.

“Were you trying to cook?” Gaku asks slowly.

“Don’t laugh.” 

“Why’d you do it over the fire?”

Tenn scowls at him. “For eating, what else?”

Gaku blinks. “But mermaids eat it raw, don’t they?”

“…You,” Tenn narrows his eyes, and he lets out a growl before angrily stabbing the charred stick down into the sand. “I’m not doing it for myself, you absolute moron–!”

He makes a move to dive back into the ocean. Gaku surges forward to grab him by the wrist, and gets a face full of water and sand before he manages to tug Tenn to a stop.

“Wait,” he sputters past the salty seawater. “You were doing it for _ me? _”

“I don’t see anyone else here!”

“Right– sorry,” Gaku tightens his grip. “Sorry, and thank you. Thanks for bringing me food everyday. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“Starve, probably.”

He’s not wrong. “I appreciate that. Really. Just let me show you how to do it next time so you don’t burn yourself, okay?”

Tenn huffs under his breath, but gives a small nod. Gaku relaxes, too.

“Let me take a look at your hand?”

Tenn hesitates, then slowly turns his hand palm-up for Gaku to inspect. Luckily, they’re all minor injuries that’ll heal fine on its own. “What do humans do about burns?”

“Usually, we’d put ointment on it. But I don’t have any right now.”

“So you’re useless.”

“Excuse me for not bringing first aid supplies when I fell overboard,” Gaku says. He looks down at Tenn’s hand again. “Well…there _ is _ one more thing, I suppose.”

Then, before he can second-guess himself, he raises Tenn’s hand to his lips and presses a gentle kiss against his finger.

“_A kiss will make it better _ – that’s what we say.”

When he raises his head, Gaku is treated to the sight of the mermaid’s furiously blushing face. Then, before he can say anything to capitalize on his victory, Tenn snatches his hand back and disappears underwater with a splash. 

* * *

Day after day goes by. 

His campfire continues to send a smoke signal into the sky, but the ocean’s horizon remains empty. The isolation is maddening – in fact, Tenn’s constant presence might be the only thing that makes each day bearable. He visits every morning like clockwork, always bringing fish, seaweed, and other things to eat. 

On one unusual morning, he wakes to the sound of hushed whispers. Gaku sits up, blearily rubbing his eyes, and promptly does a double take.

Tenn is here, but he isn’t alone. There’s another mermaid beside him whose scales shine a brilliant red. A glimmering pink scale hangs from his neck, just like how Tenn keeps a red scale around his.

“Ah– he’s awake!” the other mermaid gasps in a too-loud whisper. Half-hiding behind Tenn, he clasps both hands over his mouth with a nervous giggle. “Look, Tenn-nii, he’s awake!”

“I know, Riku.”

“He’s coming our way!”

“Riku,” Tenn says, with a hint of exasperation. “If you’re scared of him, you should just go back.”

The red mermaid shakes his head vehemently. “But I want to see your human, Tenn-nii. I have to make sure he isn't dangerous!”

“This human isn't a threat. He doesn’t even know how to feed himself.”

“Hey!”

At the sound of Gaku’s affronted squawk, Tenn turns back to him. “Gaku, meet Riku,” he introduces, voice dipping into something soft and fond. “My younger brother. He…insisted on meeting you at least once.”

“It’s because Tenn-nii spends so much time here,” Riku pouts. He peers at Gaku with the same kind of distrustful look one might give to a feral animal. “With a _human_. I have to protect him.”

_ Protect_, he says, but he’s still hiding behind his big brother. 

“There’s nothing to worry about,” Tenn reassures, patting his hair. “Gaku’s harmless."

“You don’t know that!” Riku insists, and side-eyes Gaku again. “He might do bad things. You made me keep this a secret, so the rest of us won't even know when to come looking for you if something really goes wrong. I don’t want Tenn-nii to get kidnapped!”

“I’m not kidnapping anyone.” Gaku protests. The questioning of his moral character aside, where would they even go? He’s stranded on this godforsaken island. “Tenn saved my life, and I'd never hurt him.”

Despite his assurances, it takes a while for Riku to warm up to him – Riku holds a deep-rooted fear towards humans that Tenn must have also shared at first, and he seems to assume the worst of them at every turn. It feels something like an accomplishment when the younger mermaid finally stops speaking to him exclusively over Tenn’s shoulder.

“I kind of get why Tenn-nii likes you now,” Riku decides, a number of visits later. He's talkative once he opens up, filling the silence with idle chatter that jumps abruptly from topic to topic. Propping himself up on a sun-warmed rock, he yawns and lazily raises his arms to stretch before looking at Gaku again. “Well, besides the fact that you gave him all those nice gifts. You should see his collection! There's so much that it's getting really hard to hide, and Tenn-nii’s always looking at them.”

“Riku,” Tenn says, in a tone of warning.

“Will you give him more?” Riku continues, either not getting the hint or simply not caring. “Especially those flowers! Tenn-nii was so sad when they rotted away, I thought he would cry–”

Tenn lunges at his brother, cutting him off, and Riku shrieks as he’s pushed back underwater. Their tails whip from side to side, splashing water in every which direction.

“Why don’t you want me to tell him?”

“Riku, be quiet!”

“But you really loved those flowers!”

“Wait, hold on,” Gaku wades out into the shallows, but it’s impossible to catch sight of them again once they disappear underwater. “Get back here, the both of you!"

Silence. He wonders if they’d ditched him for the day – but thankfully, Tenn resurfaces a few minutes later.

“Riku went home,” he announces, in a tone that suggests he may not have given Riku much of a choice in that matter. “He talks too much.”

“I’m glad he did, though,” Gaku extends a hand to help pull him up. He waits until Tenn’s far enough from the water that he can’t escape too quickly, then asks, “Was what he said true?”

Tenn averts his eyes, and takes several moments to chew on his lip. Finally, he gives a tiny nod.

Gaku’s quiet for a moment, too. “You kept my gifts?”

“…Well, yes.” Tenn seems perplexed. “Why wouldn’t I?”

“I wasn’t sure,” Gaku admits, and it felt as though a weight had been lifted from his chest. “You never wore a single one, not even once. I thought maybe you hadn’t liked them.”

“I–” Tenn opens his mouth, then closes it again. He looks bashful all of a sudden, ducking his head as pink dusted across his cheeks. “They were…of course I _ liked _ them,” his voice grows softer. “I just couldn’t afford to be caught wearing something of human origin, that’s all.”

This side of him really is cute.

In a moment of boldness, Gaku raises a hand and cards it through Tenn’s soft, pale hair. There’s a thread of delicate shells there, but he can’t help thinking how nice it might look with a jeweled hairpin instead.

“Wear it for me sometime,” he says. “And if you liked it, I’ll buy you more. Anything you want.”

Tenn stiffens, but quickly relaxed again. His lips curved upwards and he presses ever-so-slightly into the touch. “Was that supposed to be smooth?”

“I’m being serious! There’s a lot I want to show you when I get back to the city – things I know you’ll love.”

“Don’t get ahead of yourself, Gaku.”

“I’m not,” Gaku leans in, smiling. “But if I was able to pick out something you liked a month ago, then I’m _ absolutely confident _ in my ability to impress you now.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First of all: cotton_thistle did some amazing art of mermaid!Riku, so please check it out **[here!](https://twitter.com/cotton_thistle/status/1166898916756996096)**
> 
> And so...about the timing...instead of finishing this fic on September 8th it's more like I've just posted Chapter 2 on September 8th, whoops. And even then I'm a few hours late, but I've really no excuse other than "writing has been hard because of university, etc." I do plan to finish this fic soon, though! My next goal is TRG day on September 18th >.<
> 
> Despite the delay, I hope you enjoy this update - and if you did, please leave a comment or kudos because they really encourage me! As always, I'm on twitter **[@redigitizing](https://twitter.com/redigitizing)** <3


	3. Chapter 3

On the seventeenth day, it rains. 

Gaku spends the night huddled in the corner of his lean-to shelter, trying to ignore the incessant leaking of his makeshift roof. Twice, he considers leaving to find better protection from the weather. However, the rest of the forest is too dark to navigate, and the last thing he wants is to get lost and separated from the freshwater stream.

The rain chills him to the bone. He’s completely soaked by the time dawn finally breaks, bringing an end to the downpour and casting some desperately needed rays of warmth over the island. Hurrying down to the beach, Gaku strips off the outer layers of his clothes and lays them to dry on the sand before trying to salvage what’s left of his kindling and firewood. It’s a miserable, teeth-chattering experience, as well as a rude awakening of just how vulnerable he is to simple weather.

He’s still shivering and sneezing when Tenn pops out of the water a few hours later, bearing his usual catch of fish. The mermaid blinks at his haggard appearance.

“...You look terrible.”

Gaku grunts. “It’s the rain. I don’t think there’s a single part of me that’s still dry.”

Tenn tilts his head – apparently, he had not considered that a hazard. “There’s nothing wrong with a little water.”

“Of course _ you _would say that, but humans don’t live in the sea like you do,” Gaku complains, prodding despondently at the damp remnants of last night’s firewood. “See, none of these will catch. They better dry up in the sun, or I’m going to freeze tonight.”

He sneezes again. Tenn’s brows furrow.

“Are you sick?”

“I hope not,” Gaku sighs. “Getting sick here would be really, really bad.”

He doesn’t mean to alarm him, but Tenn’s expression had shifted into a worried frown. Dragging himself out of the water, he braces one hand on Gaku’s shoulder and another on his knee before half-pulling, half-propping himself up to touch their foreheads together. A startled sound escapes Gaku’s throat.

“Your temperature’s fine,” Tenn murmurs, ignoring the growing flush on Gaku’s face. He purses his lips, contemplative, then nods a little to himself and promptly slides back into the water. “Stay here.”

“Wait, where are you–”

Tenn’s gone before he can finish his sentence. 

Gaku waits, but there’s no telling when Tenn will come back and nothing to be gained from sitting idle. Working out the stiffness of his limbs, he circles back to the edge of the forest and starts to rearrange his makeshift shelter, pushing branches together and layering on more debris in hopes of making it more water-resistant for the next time it rains. 

It’s late afternoon by the time Tenn finally resurfaces. By then, Gaku’s clothes had dried and he’d managed to get a fire going, huddling around it as close as possible without burning himself. Shifting to sit beside him, Tenn holds out something small and lumpy. 

“What’s this for?” Gaku takes it, rolling the strange object between his fingers. It’s about half the size of a small clam, but soft and shapeless with an unpleasant, vaguely slippery texture. 

“It’s medicine,” Tenn says matter-of-factly. “You should take it now.”

“Seriously?” Gaku balks a little, grimacing. “It feels gross. Besides, I’m not sick.”

His statement is immediately contradicted by another sneeze. 

Tenn frowns, and jabs his elbow into Gaku’s side. “Just eat it already.”

“But it’s slimy–”

“It’s _ medicine_, taste isn’t supposed to be the deciding factor here! Or would you rather spend the rest of your time here sneezing and coughing?”

“Alright, alright!” Gaku shoves it into his mouth, then immediately starts to gag. It takes a great deal of willpower to chew and swallow instead of spitting it back out, though the distasteful flavour still lingers on his tongue. If it hadn’t come from Tenn, he’d think he’s being poisoned. “That was _ disgusting_, what the hell...”

“Stop being a baby,” Tenn huffs, decidedly unsympathetic. “Riku took this all the time, and he never complained as much as you.”

Gaku makes a face, but it’s impossible to stay grumpy for long – as pushy as Tenn had been, the fact that he’d rushed off to get medicine in the first place is extremely endearing. And with him sitting so close, so he only has to wrap an arm around Tenn’s shoulder to pull him closer.

“Sorry for making you worry.”

Tenn stiffens, but relaxes just as quickly. “Who said I was worried?” He leans into the embrace despite the prickly words, his smaller form fitting perfectly in Gaku’s arms. “It would be a pain if you got sick, that’s all.”

“Whatever you say,” Gaku laughs slightly. “But I’ll be okay. A little rain won’t get me down.”

* * *

The next morning, his sneezing had progressed into a persistent cough. His head hurts, too. 

“Good thing I brought this with me,” Tenn frowns as he holds out another one of the weird, sticky lumps. “I was hoping you wouldn’t need it.”

“Not again,” Gaku groans, even as he takes the medicine. “What is it made of, anyways?”

“How should I know?”

“You brought it here!” If he didn’t want to put it in his mouth before, he’s twice as reluctant now. But Tenn’s eyes are starting to narrow in a tell-tale sign of dwindling patience, so Gaku can only sigh before taking a deep breath and trying to gulp it down. There’s no denying that there _ is _an uncomfortable itch in his throat, and he would very much like to get it under control before it gets worse. 

As the unpleasant texture hits his tongue, he can’t help complaining one last time. “That’s shady, though. How can you _ not _know what it is?”

“I didn’t make it. The sea witch did.”

Gaku promptly chokes, setting off a coughing fit. “The sea what?”

“The sea witch,” Tenn repeats. “She makes most of our medicine and potions. Don’t give me that look,” he adds, and thumps him on the back. “Takanashi Tsumugi is competent in her work. I wouldn’t have trusted her to make Riku’s medicine otherwise.”

“But what...who is she?” While mermaids were at least well-documented creatures, this is completely new. “Is she like you?”

“She’s not exactly like a mermaid, if that’s what you’re asking,” Tenn taps his chin. “Her magic is interesting, but hard to describe. You can imagine it this way: whereas I have a tail,” he wriggles it for emphasis. “Her lower half is more like a jellyfish.”

“...I guess I can picture that.”

Tenn smiles. “She would have enjoyed meeting a human, I think. But Tsumugi-san never comes to the surface.”

Gaku would’ve liked to meet other sea-dwellers, too, and it’s a shame that there’s a whole _ world _underwater he’ll never be able to experience. But in the end, that’s not what matters.

“It can’t be helped. You’re the only one I came to see, anyways,” Gaku says, and grins when Tenn quickly looks away. 

He’s always so cute when he’s embarrassed. 

Tenn doesn’t directly acknowledge the statement, and Gaku doesn’t expect him to. Instead, he points to the pile of leaves and flowers strewn around them in the sand. "What's all this?" Ever since Gaku's arrival, firewood and kindling has become a common sight on the beach. Scattered greenery, not so much. “Were you making something?”

He’d almost forgotten. Gaku looks down at the mess of petals and stems, with wildflowers woven clumsily together while he sat idle in the morning. “I was hoping I’d have a little more time to work on it. But since you asked...” he gingerly holds it up and makes a beckoning gesture. Although not quite the ideal he’d envisioned, it’s holding together as well as he can reasonably expect. “Come closer.”

Tenn tilts his head, but leans forward without complaint and holds perfectly still as Gaku places the ring of flowers in his hair. 

It’s a simple little thing, almost childish – but somehow, the sight of these small, colourful blossoms settled into Tenn’s hair and brushing against his delicate fins almost takes his breath away. 

“Of all of my gifts, you liked the flowers most, right?” Some of the petals fall when Tenn tries to look up, and Gaku catches it in the palm of his hand, gently brushing his knuckles against Tenn’s cheek. “This was all I could find on the island.”

“You didn’t have to give me anything.”

“I wanted to.”

A hint of pink colours Tenn’s cheeks as he twists to admire his reflection in the water, and the smile that slowly spreads across his face is _ radiant_. “I do like them,” he admits, reaching up and running his fingers gently over the petals. “There’s nothing like this underwater. Sometimes I can see flowers growing inland, but I could never get far enough to pick them myself. They...have a lovely scent.”

The fondness in his voice is unmistakable. “I’ll bring you more,” Gaku blurts out. “Once I get back home, I’ll bring you any kind of flower you want.”

Tenn blinks at him, then gives a small huff of a laugh. “Even if they’ll fall apart when I take them underwater?”

“As long as you liked them, it’s not a waste.” He means it. Tenn clearly likes to learn about the human world, and there’s so, _ so _much Gaku wants to show him. “There’s a grand garden in my family’s manor, with flowers in every colour you can think of. You’d love them.”

Tenn shakes his head, lips curving up into a wry smile. “That’s too far inland. I won't be able to move on my own.”

“Then I’ll carry you!”

“And parade me around the city street for everyone to see? I’ll end up locked in a tank before the day’s over.”

Oh, right. “A...carriage, then,” Gaku furrows his brows. “I can send a carriage to the beach and arrange for privacy inside the manor, too. That can work, actually,” he presses on with renewed eagerness. “I’ll get a blanket to put over your lap and drawn down the blinds of the carriage, and then make sure nobody can come into your quarters without the key–”

Caught up in his own excitement, Gaku leans forward, only to draw back a second later when Tenn flicks him sharply on the forehead. 

“I can’t risk going that far inland. If you have something to show me, you’ll have to bring it down to the beach,” he says. Tenn’s tone drops into something quiet and pensive. “This, right now, is the closest we’ll ever be.”

Gaku’s smile fades slightly. “What do you mean?” 

“I can’t follow you when you return to the city, and you can never come to the sea with me. Once you return, I…” Tenn hesitates. He’s beginning to look vaguely regretful about breaching the topic at all, but the mood had already shifted. So he inhales sharply, and closes his eyes. “I expect that we’ll be seeing a lot less of each other.”

The statement is like being drenched in a bucket of cold water. 

“That’s not true,” Gaku protests. “We always made time for each other, didn’t we? Even before we were finally able to meet face-to-face.”

“Yes, but…” Tenn’s lips are pressed into a thin line. “How long did you expect that to continue, Gaku? Realistically.”

Without meaning to, he raises his voice. “For as long as we still wanted to see each other!”

“And how long would that be, when you can only meet me for about an hour every night?”

“I managed _ just fine _ back when you wouldn’t even say a single word to me!” 

Tenn visibly bristles and clenches his hands into fists, but offers no retort. While it may have been an effort to prevent the argument from escalating, it only served to fan the flames of Gaku’s frustration. “What are you getting at? Once I get off this island, you won't be bothered to come see me anymore.” It hurts his throat to shout, but he’s never been good at reining in his temper and it hurts _ more _to have Tenn talk like he’s already preparing to say goodbye. “Is that it?” 

“No!” Tenn recoils. “That’s not– I never said that!”

“Then what’s the problem?!”

“That isn’t enough!” Tenn finally snaps back. Instead of raising his voice, it lowers into a furious hiss. “I know you’re not stupid, so stop pretending you don’t see it! We live in different _ worlds_, Gaku. I can’t go to yours, and you–” he lets out a bitter laugh. “You had to get stranded to be anywhere near mine. My elders have forbidden us from making contact with humans, and for a good reason. If your humans got a hold of me, they would lock me up and pry away my scales one by one.”

Gaku shuts his mouth. 

“I didn’t want to talk about this,” Tenn’s shoulders slump. “I just...wanted to see you, while you were still here.”

He curls in miserably on himself and, just like that, all of Gaku’s previous anger evaporates. He lets out a deep, shuddering breath before leaning over to wrap both arms around Tenn.

“...I’m sorry. I was out of line.”

Tenn doesn’t answer, but he doesn’t pull away, either.

“I know it’s going to be difficult,” Gaku starts. He chews on his bottom lip, trying to find the right words. “And I always figured that we’d find a solution, even though I don’t know how just yet. All I know is that if I gave up without trying, I’d regret it for the rest of my life.”

He pauses.

“Don’t you feel the same way, Tenn? At least a little. There’s no reason for you to be here otherwise.”

Slowly, Tenn lifts his head. “I had to make sure you didn’t starve.”

“But you didn’t have to stay here with me for hours on end every day – I know the other mermaids have been giving you a hard time about always going off in secret, too. You could have just dropped off the fish and left.”

“I could have,” Tenn admits. He exhales heavily. “Like I said, I wanted to see you. I…” his voice falters, halting, and he whispers the last part. “I wanted to try.” 

Gaku hugs him a little tighter. This time, Tenn’s arms come up and he squeezes back.

“Give me your hand?”

Tenn obliges, though he looks confused when Gaku snatches the remnants of his wildflowers off the sand and struggles to tie it around his finger. “What are you doing?”

“It’s a human tradition,” Gaku says. This isn’t how he had wanted his proposal to go, but sometimes you have to make due with improvisation. He gives the stems one last tug, then gently rotates the small white blossom upright so it sits delicately on Tenn’s ring finger. “And my promise to you. That no matter how things may go, no matter how hard it is or how long it will take...I will find a way to see you again.”

Despite this clearly not being a shared tradition for mermaids, understanding flickers in Tenn’s eyes, and his expression becomes impossibly soft. 

When he leans in, Tenn meets him halfway. The kiss is gentle, but by no means tentative. One of Gaku’s hands rose to caress Tenn’s cheek while the other slides down to his waist, steadying him even as Tenn knots his fists in his shirt to pull him closer. The pounding of his own heartbeat drowned out all other sounds and despite the simple, almost chaste nature of the kiss, Gaku finds himself out of breath when they separate. 

“Are such grand promises a human tradition as well?” Tenn murmurs. 

“No, it isn’t.” Raising his hand, Gaku presses his lips against Tenn’s knuckle. “This is a vow, from me to you alone.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a while, huh. University pretty much killed my muse in the sense that everything I wrote began to look 'wrong' somehow, and even now I feel like I'm struggling to get it back...I can only hope that didn't show in the quality of this update.
> 
> You may also notice that instead of being out of three chapters, it's now out of five. I initially thought I'd be able to finish in three, but that didn't turn out to be the case (can you believe I tried to write this for the 3k word limit flashbang?). The _good_ news is that I've basically finished writing everything already, so there will be no more months-long waits – this fic is (sort of) ready to be wrapped up, and the next two chapters will be uploaded within about a week from each other.
> 
> I do wonder if anyone even still remembers my stuff after the months-long absence I just pulled asdfghjkl but if you do, I hope you enjoyed the read! As always, kudos/comments are appreciated, and I'm on twitter **[@redigitizing](https://twitter.com/redigitizing)** <3


	4. Chapter 4

It’s past noon by the time Gaku finally drags himself to their usual meeting place. Tenn’s already seated on the sand, while his long, shiny tail flicks restlessly in the water. When he sees Gaku, the tension in his shoulders ease somewhat. 

“You’re late.”

“Sorry, I just–” Gaku breaks off, turning away to cough into the crook of his arm. “You should probably keep to a distance. I’m...not feeling great.”

Tenn moves closer, pressing his palm against Gaku’s forehead. “You have a fever.”

“Ah, crap.” Even his voice had gone hoarse. “I guess the rain really got to me.”

Wordlessly, Tenn holds out his hand with the same weird, squishy medicine. This time, Gaku takes it with his morning meal without complaint. 

Tenn watches with a troubled expression. “The medicine always worked for Riku, but you’re just getting worse. Maybe it should have been modified for humans somehow.”

Gaku groans. “At this point, I feel like a proper bed and fireplace would do me more good than any medicine in the world.”

Right now, what he wants most is a roof over his head, a soft pillow, and a thick quilt. Almost three weeks of sleeping on the hard forest floor had given him aches and pains everywhere, and being sick just made it worse. Closing his eyes, Gaku flops over to lie on the sand. He can hear Tenn moving, followed by the sensation of gentle fingers brushing through his hair. 

“Mhm...that feels nice.”

Tenn hums. “What do humans do to aid recovery?”

“Not much. Just stay warm, drink water, have soup or something.” 

Few of those are possible on this island. Still, the rhythmic motions of Tenn’s hand is comforting, and right now, that’s more than good enough. 

* * *

He awakens with a start. Gaku shoots up into a sitting position, and immediately regrets it when the world sways nauseatingly around him. 

A pair of hands steady him. A moment later, Tenn’s worried face swims into view.

“Wha...?”

“You were getting too close to the fire,” Tenn says. He brushes his hand against Gaku’s forehead again, moving his sweaty bangs away from his face. “I was trying to move you.”

“Oh.” Gaku’s eyes slip shut again. His head feels like it’s been filled with cotton. “Thanks.”

“Do you want to go back to sleep?”

“...No, I shouldn’t.” With effort, Gaku shakes himself more properly awake and rises back onto his feet. “At the very least, I should go get some water.”

The mouth of the stream is just a few meters away, but murky and brackish as a result of having mixed with the ocean. For proper freshwater, Gaku needs to make his way further upstream and into the forest – it’s only a few minutes’ walk over uneven ground, but even _ that _is more taxing than it should be. He’s lucky that Tenn had given him a container for the convenience of collecting water during the first week, after his own failure to whittle one from the branches. He makes sure to fill it to the brim before carrying it back down to the beach. 

“It’s getting late.” The sun is starting to set, and this is usually Tenn’s unofficial curfew for getting home – _ any later and the others will start to interrogate me on my whereabouts_, he'd always said. “Are you going to head back?”

“I’m going to stay a little longer,” Tenn says. “Just in case you try to roll into the fire again.”

“I’ll be fine."

Tenn gives him a withering look. “You sound like you’re about to hack up a lung every time you speak.”

He can’t really argue against that. 

With a sigh, Gaku lies back down. Tenn’s hand skims across his forehead again, even though he’d checked his temperature not too long ago. This time, Gaku catches sight of a droopy flower on his finger, missing most of its petals but somehow in one piece. 

“You’re still wearing it,” he blurts out.

There’s a pause. “Did you not expect me to?”

“I thought it would have fallen off already.”

The pause is longer this time and, when Tenn speaks, his voice is wistful. “It will soon.”

He must have taken good care of it, but it’s a futile effort; flowers aren’t meant to survive in saltwater, and the flimsy stems will rot away before long. Gaku exhales softly, then reaches up to take Tenn’s slender fingers between his own. 

“Let me get you a proper ring when I’m home.” It hurts to speak, so he whispers. “Something that can stay with you forever.”

“When you get back, I should hope that your first course of action will be to seek medical attention.”

“Oh please, I’ll be all better by then.”

A hint of a smile enters Tenn’s voice. “In that case, I will accept your ring.” 

When he pulls his hand away, Gaku opens his mouth to complain – but then there’s a dizzying bit of motion and he suddenly finds his head propped up and elevated, laid atop of something smooth and just barely warm to the touch.

“Don’t cut yourself on my scales.”

Oh.

He’s lying on Tenn’s lap.

Although each individual scale is rigid, they overlap in a way to accommodate the springy flexibility of a mermaid’s tail. It makes for a surprisingly comfortable pillow. “I never thought you’d spoil me like this,” Gaku laughs, though the sound comes out more like a wheeze. “Not that I’m complaining.”

“Don’t get used to it. This is a one-time occurrence, on the account of how utterly _ pitiful _you look right now.”

“If it gets me special treatment, maybe I should get sick more often– ouch!” Gaku cuts himself off with a yelp as Tenn pinches his cheek. “Okay, okay! I get it!”

“That was a poor joke,” Tenn says in a short, clipped tone, but his voice quickly softens. “You should sleep.”

It really is getting hard to keep his eyes open. But even then… “Don’t let me keep you from going back home, okay?"

“Why are you still worrying about me at a time like this?” Tenn’s fingers are in his hair again, stroking in a soothing, repetitive motion. “_Rest_, Gaku.”

Quietly, he begins to sing. 

The soothing melody reverberates gently over the sound of ocean waves – and no matter how many times Gaku has heard Tenn sing, he always finds himself falling hopelessly in love all over again.

The pain, the discomfort, the cold...he closes his eyes, and lets Tenn’s voice wash all of that away.

* * *

“Gaku.”

The sound is muffled, as if it’s coming from far away. His body feels sluggish.

“Gaku, wake up.”

Someone’s speaking to him in a soft, coaxing tone. There’s a pair of hands patting at his face. They're wonderfully cool against his skin, and he leans into it with a sigh. 

“I know you don’t feel well, but you need to have some water. Come on.” 

The hands move down from his face to brace against the back of his head and shoulder, and all of a sudden he finds himself being pushed off of his pillow and forced up into sitting position. Gaku sways, the sudden motion causing a rush of vertigo, and slumps over the much-smaller body next to him. 

“Ugh, you’re so heavy!”

Oh, it’s–

“Tenn…?” Gaku finally croaks out. 

“Who else?” Tenn looks torn between annoyance and relief. “I’ve been trying to wake you for the past ten minutes. Now drink.”

The edge of something is pushed to his lips. Gaku opens his mouth mechanically, and it’s only after the water hits his throat that he realizes how thirsty he is. He gulps down the rest in a rush, protesting when Tenn pulls it away.

“Not all at once. You’re going to choke.” Despite the scolding tone, Tenn’s movements are gentle as he brushes his hair out of his face and braces against his shoulder to keep him upright. “Do you think you can eat anything right now?”

Gaku tries to focus, but Tenn’s voice and lip movements are out of sync, like he’s talking underwater. His stomach feels like it’s on the urge of rebelling, though, so he shakes his head. Tenn touches his forehead again.

“Lie back down, then. Here...”

The nausea is better once he’s on his back, but not by much. Tenn’s leaning over, close enough for Gaku to see that his hair is perfectly dry. For some reason, that bothers him – but it takes several moments to realize why.

“Did you–” he breaks off, coughing. “Tenn, you didn’t...go back?”

“Don’t worry about it.”

“T...The whole night, don’t tell me you–”

“It’s fine,” Tenn cuts him off, and clasps Gaku’s hands tightly between his own. His voice trembles, ever so slightly. “You weren’t in any condition to be left alone. Just...rest, now.”

Gaku doesn’t have the energy to protest. His eyes slip shut again.

The next few hours pass in a feverish haze. Tenn wakes him up a few more times for sips of water and tiny nibbles of roast fish, but those moments of wakefulness are fleeting and Gaku would drift back to sleep almost immediately afterwards. 

He's vaguely aware of when Tenn carefully eases his head off his lap and down on the sand. Some time must have passed afterwards because the sky had gone dark, but it feels like a mere blink of an eye before Tenn returns to shake him awake again. He seems agitated.

“Can you stand? Try walking a bit.”

He struggles to his feet, but ends up swaying unsteadily. “Where…?”

“Further upstream, into the forest.”

“That’s too far,” Gaku mumbles. He feels exhausted despite having slept most of the day – moreover, walking around the forest at this time is just asking to trip over tree roots in the dark. “Can’t it wait? I don’t think I–”

Tenn cuts him off. “You can_._”

That’s not really for him to decide, is it? “I’m saying I can’t!”

“You _ must!_"

These next words come as a shout. Gaku turns, startled by Tenn’s uncharacteristic outburst, and is even more alarmed to see his bottom lip quivering before he quickly lowers his head, allowing shadows to mask his distraught expression.

For a moment, neither of them speak.

“...There’s no more water,” Tenn says in a quieter voice. “There’s no more, and you haven’t been drinking enough as it is. If you wait until tomorrow, your condition will only worsen.”

When Gaku reaches out to touch his face, Tenn bats his hand away – but under the dim light of the campfire, Gaku can see the shine of wetness on his cheeks.

Tenn is crying.

“I tried to get some for you,” Tenn’s voice cracks, shoulders wracked by tremors as he sucks in a short, ragged breath. His words are coming out faster and faster, interjected with quiet sniffles and a sense of helpless frustration. “I _tried_, but the mouth of the stream here had mixed with the ocean and it's too much like seawater. The part that’s safe for you to drink– further upstream, I– I couldn’t…”

The rest of his words dissolve into a tiny sob before he quickly stifles the sound, wiping his hands roughly across his face. For the first time, Gaku notices the bits of sand and dirt plastered across Tenn’s beautiful scales.

He must have dragged himself up the beach and to the edge of the forest.

Gaku’s body aches and every word feels like a stab to his dry, parched throat, but the pain that twists in his heart hurts most of all. “It’s okay. It’s okay, Tenn!” he pleas, and tries to wipe away his tears. “Don’t cry.”

Tenn shakes his head. “You barely woke up today,” he chokes out. “You don’t even know how hot your skin is right now. You need _human_ help, Gaku! At this rate, you’re going to–”

He cuts himself off, as if afraid that the words will make it a reality.

“I’ll be alright,” Gaku repeats helplessly, because there’s nothing else he can say. When a fresh wave of dizziness rocks him, he wills it down before drawing Tenn into his arms and holding him tightly. “It’s fine. I don’t need it right away. N...Not right now, but tomorrow– tomorrow, when I feel better, I’ll go get water.”

_ I’m going to be okay, I’ll get better tomorrow, everything will be fine_. These reassurances had lost their meaning a long time ago. 

Tenn buries his face in Gaku’s shoulder, clinging to him like a lifeline. Several minutes pass before he finally pulls away, wiping at his swollen, red-rimmed eyes. 

“Lie back down,” he whispers, bracing one hand against his head and the other to his shoulder as support. “I’m sorry. Forget what I said.”

Gaku weakly extends a hand, brushing his fingers against Tenn’s face. His hands are cold and clammy, even as the rest of him burns. “I’ll be okay, Tenn. I promise.”

Tenn forces a smile. Another tear drips down his cheek. 

* * *

Is it morning, or night? A fog had settled over his muddled mind, with each fleeting thought slipping between his fingers like smoke. Someone is weeping, and he desperately wants to comfort that person. But the sound is very faint; faraway, as if in a dream. 

When a small, smooth object is pressed into the center of his palm, his fingers close around it instinctively. 

“Just as humans use rings to seal a promise, we have our traditions as well. This...is my promise to you, so you may return safe and sound.”

A tender kiss brushes against his forehead. A second, against his lips.

“Goodbye, Gaku.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We've almost made it to the end! After all, Gaku can't stay stranded on that island forever, and now...it's time to say goodbye. 
> 
> The next chapter will be an epilogue! As always, kudos/comments are appreciated, and I'm on twitter **[@redigitizing](https://twitter.com/redigitizing)** <3


	5. Chapter 5

Gaku wakes to the sound of voices.

At first, he thinks it must be Tenn. But these voices are low and gruff, and nothing like the pretty, melodic timbre he’d become so familiar with. Gaku cracks an eye open, squinting past the harsh sunlight and his own pounding headache – then promptly does a double take when he sees a human ship bobbing up and down on the ocean waves.

Right before his disbelieving eyes, a small group of sailors descend onto a small rowing boat to close the rest of the distance across shallow waters. They make a beeline towards him, trying to help him up and immediately setting out to drag him to the rowboat.

“W-Wait,” Gaku sputters. “You’re not– who–”

“It’s alright,” one of them says. “We’re going to take you back to the capital.”

Gaku shakes off his hand, casting a wild look around. Apart from his sad-looking campfire, the beach is completely empty. “But Tenn, he...he was...”

The sailor looks at him with sympathy. “There’s no one else here. You must be seeing things, sir – I reckon you have a fever.”

They usher him on board and into a room, laying fresh clothing onto the bed and half-burying him under a pile of blankets. Gaku doesn’t realize how hard he’s clenching his fist until he reaches out to take a mug of hot tea, and something small and shiny slips out between his open fingers.

A beautiful pink scale.

Gaku nearly spills the drink all over himself in his haste to pick up the scale, quickly moving to hide it under the folds of the blanket. Luckily, the people around him seem too busy to notice – judging from the haphazard boxes and accumulated layers of dust, this cabin must have been a storage area, and they’re only rushing to clean it up now. Outside the door, he can hear someone call for the ship’s medic.

The sailor ducks into the room a few moments later, nearly vibrating with excitement. “It really is you!” he babbles. “We thought you were _ dead_, Lord Yaotome. It’s been almost three weeks – how on earth did you end up here?”

He’d been careless to blurt out Tenn’s name on the beach, but Gaku's clear-headed enough not to make that mistake again. “I...don’t know, I just washed up on shore.”

The sailor whistles under his breath. “Then you’ve got the devil’s own luck, sir. Even with good winds, it’s more than an hour’s sail from where you fell overboard.”

“It’s...something like fate, I suppose.” Gaku closes his eyes. Tenn’s scale is warm in his hand. “How did you find me?”

The sailor scratches his head. “It’s a funny story, actually. We had no idea you were there until we got close enough to see the smoke. Actually…”

“We were chasing a mermaid,” another one cut in.

Gaku’s blood runs cold. 

“You’re not going to believe this, Lord Yaotome, but I swear we saw one today,” the sailor continues. “A gorgeous pink one, that is. Right out in plain sight! I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me at first, but then it kept resurfacing.”

The other men nod in agreement. “Again and again, it’ll come back up and flick its tail–”

“–Like it _ wanted _ to be seen!” the first sailor spreads out his arms with a flourish. “So we followed it, of course. It was quite a chase, and we almost got it – but then we saw your smoke, and the creature somehow slipped away while we were distracted.” He pauses, frowning, then quickly shakes his head. “No matter. Even if we lost its trail today, we ended up finding you. Perhaps it was fate, like you said.”

“I don’t know about that,” Gaku manages to croak out, once he’d found his voice again. “It was probably just a trick of light.”

“No, it was definitely a mermaid! I’m telling you, it was the sighting of a lifetime.” The sailor’s eyes gleam. “We can't let this go. Sooner or later, I'm sure we'll find it again.”

There’s a chorus of laughter as the other men clap each other on the back in agreement. Gaku tightens his grip on the scale until the sharp edges dig into his palm.

Outside the small cabin window, the ocean is a vast, empty blue. “Be safe,” his lips form a silent prayer. “Please be safe, Tenn.”

_ Wait for me. _

He hadn’t gotten to say goodbye. But it’s not as if he won’t get another chance, because surely–

_ There will come a day when we can see each other again. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Andddddd that's a wrap! At least for now. As you can see, it's a bit of an open ending with some pretty clear hints on what direction it might go in a hypothetical sequel. I've mentioned before that I plotted this for the flashbang event, and to fit the word limit I actually just sort of chopped up my thoughts for the mermaid AU with this being the "first half." Gaku's little shipwreck adventure has come to an end, but it's not necessarily the complete ending for this universe.
> 
> I don't know when I'll do the second part, mostly because I want to focus on some other things right now, but...in the meantime, I do hope you've enjoyed the ride. As always, kudos/comments are appreciated, and I'm on twitter **[@redigitizing](https://twitter.com/redigitizing)**!


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